Foolish Tricks
by xxvioletskye
Summary: How can something so right, feel so wrong? Running away never solves anything, so instead, Souji decides to make a stand and do the right thing. What he doesn't realize is that what seems "right" may not always be what's best. MCxYosuke
1. I Second Thoughts

**A/N: I wrote this fic because I ABOSLUTELY adore YosukeXSouji and vice-versa. This is going to contain a lot of cotton-candy fluff parts especially later on, but as you'll see, it follows a solid storyline as well. There will be lots of action too, so buckle up and enjoy! **

**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Action

**Pairing: **SoujixYosuke/ YosukexSouji_. _That basically tells you what to expect. Slight SoujixYukiko/YukikoxSouji at the start.

**Rating: **R13 (T) for language, violence, suggestive themes and _sliiightly _graphic scenes. If you played the game, then this will be no different. I _might_ create separately published M rated chapters later on if I feel like it, or if anyone requests.

**Summary:** How can something so right, feel so wrong? Running away never solves anything, so instead, Souji decides to make a stand and do the right thing. What he doesn't realize is that what seems "right" may not always be what's best.

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

June 27, 2011.

_Yasogami High Rooftop._

It was the perfect day to eat out—the sky was partly cloudy, and a slight breeze made it cool enough to negate the heat from the noonday sun. Every day was getting hotter than the last, since summer was just around the corner.

"Wow, this is incredible, Souji!" Yosuke exclaimed, after taking a bite out of the fried unagi bento he was offered. "Your cooking sure beats the hell out of the girls' _Mystery Food X _everytime_." _He then continued to gobble up the contents of the lunchbox like there was no tomorrow, sauce and rice flying everywhere. "Vhow thdid vyou vhlearn thdo cwook-"

"H-hey slow down, you might choke!" Souji watched as his friend ravaged the meal he had prepared. "Swallow your food first, I don't want to be responsible for a case of homicide, you know!"

Yosuke seemed so happy eating that he didn't bother telling him that he hadn't gotten his half yet. He always looked forward to cooking for him, anyways. It amused Souji how something _he_ had made can make someone so happy. The smile on Yosuke's face was priceless.

For some reason, he had rarely asked anyone else but Yosuke to eat alone with him whenever he cooked, though. At first it was because he hardly knew anyone, but in the three months he's spent at Inaba, he's gained quite a lot of friends. There was just really something about Yosuke's company that he craved more than anyone else's.

"Maaaan, that was really good." Yosuke wiped his mouth with his sleeve and put down the box with the utensils when he finished. "I promise, I'll repay the favor next time. Steak skewers, my treat at Junes?"

"Sure..." Souji said, packing up the bento. "But hey, I've never even tried your cooking yet. Why not bring some next time instead, Super-Chef Hanamura?"

"Huh? You know I can't cook, Souji. I mean, _sure_ I'm never going to cook up something as bad as _Mystery Food X_," Yosuke said, cringing as he said it, "but-"

"Oh really?" Souji said, interrupting. "I'm sure the girls will be more than willing to challenge what you just said."

"What are you talking about? Nothing can possibly be worse than that- that _thing _they made. It wasn't even edible!"

"Hmm... I don't know. You've been dissing their food all this time and you're not any better? Tsk tsk tsk."

"But I never even- oh fine." Yosuke said, giving up. "I'll accept that challenge. Don't blame me if we go hungry though. Pack some lunch too, just in case."

Souji laughed, and Yosuke laughed as well.

"Hey," Yosuke said, as his laughter began to die down. "So anyways… today's the day, huh?"

Souji's smile suddenly dropped. He felt his stomach turn inside him.

Spending time with Yosuke had made him forget all about _that. _What was he going to do? Was he really going to go through with it? Did he even want to? He suddenly regretted telling Yosuke, since it's only put all the more pressure on him. It was all he thought about the previous night, and all throughout morning class. Forgetting about it for a while was a welcome break.

"I guess there was bound to be a day that someone won the Amagi challenge anyways. I'm glad it's you though, since you'll take care of our Yuki-chan, wont'cha?" Yosuke teased, and suddenly choke-held him and rubbed his head, messing his hair up. "Souji's getting a girlfriend...!"

"S-stop that! I-I'm not even sure she likes me back." Souji said, struggling against Yosuke's grip.

What he said wasn't exactly true though. Souji already had an idea that Yukiko liked him, based on the observations he'd made on her. He'd always catch her looking back in class to look at him, then quickly turn away blushing. Plus, Chie wasn't exactly discreet about the whole matter.

_He was planning to confess that day, and if anything, it was _his_ feelings he was unsure about. _

"You can't be serious, right? The girl's practically _nuts _over you. That's what Chie says at least. She calls me up every night ranting that she couldn't stand talking to Yukiko anymore, who only seems to be interested in talking about YOU lately. Aside from stuff about the cases, of course. D-don't tell her that I told you that, though." Yosuke let go of his choke, and put his arm around Souji instead, pulling him close. "But hey, I'm rooting for you, pal."

Souji suddenly felt blood rush up to his cheeks, his heart pounding in his chest. The emptiness in his stomach was replaced with butterflies. It was an all-too familiar feeling that he could never seem to explain rationally.

_Yosuke's face was so close to his, that he could practically feel his breath. _

Souji realized that he was blushing and tried to shake the feeling off. _"I'm just nervous. That's all." _He thought, as he looked down at his feet. He couldn't get himself to meet Yosuke's stare.

Souji gained back his composture and took Yosuke's arm off him. "Maybe I should just do this when we've rescued Rise. I don't feel like I'm doing a good job as a leader if I put my personal matters ahead of everything else."

"Come on, we've been at it for days now. We've cleared about... a third of a dungeon, and the weather report promises no rain all week. You deserve a break."

"That doesn't sound very convincing..."

"But... Oh shit!" Yosuke quickly stood up, looking down at his wrist. "We're late! King Moron's gonna kill us!"

Souji looked down at his watch and true enough, eight minutes had already passed since the start of their next class. _"There goes my perfect attendance."_ he thought. But somehow, the attendance didn't matter so much. What he was really concerned about was what King Moron was going to say. He then quickly packed his things up, and rushed to the door with Yosuke.

The two boys ran as fast as they could to their classroom on the second floor. When they arrived, they heard Morooka's voice coming out of the classroom. He was already in the middle of a lecture.

"Crap..." Yosuke said, as he panted in front of the back door. "Do we just go in? Knowing King Moron, he's going to make a biiig fuss about this."

"We can't really do anything else. Let's just sneak in quietly, huh?" Souji said, trying to sound confident. "Imagine we're in a dungeon trying to sneak past a powerful shadow."

"Whatever you say, leader." Yosuke replied with a wink, and a pat on his back.

With that, they tried their best to enter as sneakily as they could, opening the door as quietly as they can. However, even their stealth wasn't enough to match the senses of Mr. Morooka.

"Well well, what do we have here." Morooka said, the moment Souji and Yosuke entered the room. "You two boys were out on a rendezvous? Seeing as one of you is Hanamura, who I doubt even _knows _what rendezvous means..."

The whole class looked back, staring at them.

"O-of course I know what-" Yosuke started. "B-but it's not like that! We were-"

"Siddown and shut up! I don't want to know about the _immoral _and vile things you bastards did. Kids today... Don't your parents teach you what's right anymore?" Morooka resumed to write on the board as the two went to their seats.

"Can you believe him?" Yosuke whispered once they've sat down. "We've barely been late ten minutes!"

"Where have you guys been?" Chie whispered to Yosuke. "I was beginning to think on the same lines as Morooka for a while there."

"S-shut up!" Yosuke muttered under is breath.

"Why don't YOU shut up, mister Hanamura?" Morooka was furious, flinging the chalk he was holding to the ground. The students in front were unfortunate enough to be rained on by the spit spraying out of his mouth. "If you think you're so smart as to be late _and _not listen in my class, why don't you tell me what the word _ressentiment _means?"

Yosuke stood up, clenching his fist. "Hmm... r-ressentiment huh? Uhh... it means... oh shit..."

As his friend struggled to think of the answer, Souji had already written the answer on a piece of paper in big and bold letters.

**_HATRED AND JEALOUSY_**

He put it on the edge of his table to give Yosuke a clear view. Whenever any of his friends needed help, this was his fool-proof way of feeding them the answer.

"Hatred and... Jealou...sy? Yeah, it's hatred and jealousy." Yosuke said, confident as if it were his own answer.

"Hmph. I'm surprised a cretin like you can answer that! Better remember it, I might put it on the test."

Yosuke grumbled as he slumped back on his seat.

As everything happened though, Souji's mind had already drifted. He set his gaze to the girl a row in front of him, and began contemplating. _Yukiko Amagi. _She really did seem like the perfect girl-beautiful, smart, and popular; with a great personality to boot. She had a great sense of humor too, and was always fun to talk to. They had so much in common. She possessed everything he was looking for in a girl and if what Yosuke said was right, she had feelings for him.

_But despite all that, he was hesitating._

Souji chewed on his lip as he thought of what to do. How was he even going to go about it, anyway? It wasn't like he was a stranger to confessing his feelings; back in his old school, he never had a problem asking girls out. Then again, he had never taken any of them seriously enough to have an actual relationship. He was always just doing it for the kicks. This time was different.

_"This is a bad idea." _he thought. _"Maybe I should'nt-"_

He suddenly felt a light jab to this left shoulder, disrupting his thought. Yosuke handed him a piece of paper. On it was a crudely drawn caricature of Morooka wearing a crown, and the both of them-Souji and Yosuke, holding their weapons as if they were going to beat him up. Morooka was a shadow! Souji struggled as he tried not to laugh; he couldn't even decide what he found funnier- the premise of the drawing, or that the drawing was so horribly drawn. Below the drawing was a single line.

_I don't know what I'd do without you, partner._

Souji felt his cheeks burn as he read it. Usually Yosuke would just reply with a "Thanks." or an "I owe you one.", never something like this. He re-read the line until the words didn't make any sense anymore. Once he snapped out of it, he folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He felt pathetic and ashamed of himself, thinking that it could mean _anything _besides what is said. Why _was _he making a big deal about it, anyways? It was just normal for best friends to express their gratitude, right?

With that, Souji went back to looking at the girl in front.

_"No. I should definitely do it today."_

_~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

**A/N: That's all for now! Please leave a review if you have the time so that I have an idea how you liked this. It's going to make me update a lot faster. Any kind of comments are welcome. You can even message me if you want. I always enjoy having a chat with fellow P4 fans :D**

**P.S.: I've edited a bit due to some typos I spotted :-j**


	2. II Confessions

**A/N: So here's the next chapter! Sorry for taking a while, I had to go over edit and re-edit this 'til I got all the typos out :D Any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and enjoy! :p**

* * *

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

The three o'clock chimes usually meant freedom for Souji Seta—they signaled the end of classes, and the start of leisure time he had to do his bidding. On this particular day, however, the sound of them meant anything but freedom. Each note bound him closer and closer to a choice, echoing like death tolls in the air.

"Souji, wake up!" Souji felt Yosuke's hand on his back shaking him violently. He wasn't asleep, though. He had slumped on his table a little longer on purpose trying to make a last minute decision, but in the end, he realized it was too late to change his mind. He had to do it.

Souji sprang up and quickly started packing his bag, arranging the pieces of paper and his books scattered on the desk and on the floor. "Sorry." he said. "I guess the lecture made me sleepy. Oh, hey Yukiko-" he quickly put his hand on Yukiko's shoulder, who was about to leave.

Yukiko turned around, looking back with wide eyes. "Y-yes?" Her cheeks flushed red, a shade almost as deep as her sweater.

"May I walk you home?" Souji felt butterflies in his stomach again, and began to regret letting Yosuke take all his lunch. He had always felt more queasy with an empty stomach. _"It's going to be all right." _he reassured himself, deciding to suck it up and go through with it. "Just grin and _bear _it." He imagined Teddie would say, and stood his ground even as he felt like his legs were about to buckle in anxiety.

"Sure." Yukiko said, fixing the bag strap on her shoulder. "But, uhm, can you meet me downstairs? I have to go to the science lab first and submit these research papers to Mrs. Nakayama. She's been making me do this to make up for all my missed classes."

"Oh, that sucks, she made me some of those last year! She got mad at me for copy-pasting from the net though." Chie said, and went to Yukiko's side. "Hey, I'll come with you. Uhm, w-we'll meet you guys downstairs." The two girls then went out, and Souji continued to pack his things. He noticed that Yosuke hadn't said a word since.

"Yosuke..?" he said, putting book inside his bag. The light from the window illuminated Yosuke's face, highlighting his features.

Souji had always considered his best friend good-looking; but at that moment, something was different. There was something almost surreal about how Yosuke looked under the afternoon sunlight. He couldn't find a word to describe Yosuke; calling him "handsome" wouldn't even cut it.

_Beautiful? Stunning? Gorgeous? _Not even.

Yosuke's brown hair almost seemed golden in the afternoon sunlight, framing his face like a halo. His eyes reflected the rays of the sun, like tiny mirrors set on his face. His profile seemed etched against the light, making every angle, every corner, every slant of his face all the more prominent.

At that moment, Yosuke was _perfect._

Before he had realized it, Souji had stopped packing and started staring at his friend. Yosuke didn't seem to notice—he was sitting atop of the desk beside Souji spaced out, staring at the window. His eyes had that same look in them, whenever he was lost in his favorite music.

_His eyes. _Souji knew them all too well. They were always full of emotion, brimming with whatever Yosuke felt at the moment. It was obvious when he was genuinely happy about something because they sparkled and appeared softer. When he was troubled they reflected whatever feelings he had too; Souji always found it hard to look at them whenever Yosuke was sad or angry, because it always felt like the emotion spilled over, stirring an ache in his heart. It was when Yosuke was spaced out that he was hard to read; his eyes seemed to be a cage of mixed emotions making it impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling.

Souji's heart almost stopped when those eyes finally met his.

"Oh... yeah?" Yosuke said, snapping out of his trance. He looked away from the sun and straight at Souji.

_"Shoot." _Souji thought, blood rushing to his cheeks. _"Did he catch me staring?" _He quickly looked down, accidentally dropping a a book he was holding.

"Are you psyched yet? Here, let me help you out with that." Yosuke hopped off the desk and bent down to pick the book Souji dropped up from the floor. Souji was about to pick it up as well, and for a moment, their hands touched. An electric shock coursed through his entire arm, making him retract his hand. It would've been like a scene straight from a cheesy romantic movie, but instead of being a cute, clumsy girl; he was just the nervous, butter-fingered guy best friend. Souji thought that it would've been a horror movie more than anything for Yosuke, if he had known what he was feeling then.

"I-I'm sorry." Souji said, resuming his packing. "I guess I'm just really nervous."

"You are?" Yosuke asked with a shocked look on his face. "Wow, and here I was thinking you weren't worrying about it one bit. Glad to know you're human like the rest of us!" Yosuke laughed and put the book he was holding on Souji's table.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Souji tried his best not to meet Yosuke in the eye again. Just moments ago, he was captivated by the sight of his best friend, and he couldn't explain why. He almost felt sick, the way his stomach was turning inside of him.

"You always seem so calm about everything. I mean, whether it's about schoolwork or even going in to the TV to fight shadows, you're always as cool as a cucumber. You somehow always make everyone feel like everything's going to be ok."

Generally, that was true. Souji wasn't the type to get worked up about the slightest of things, easily keeping his composure even in the most trying of situations. He took advantage of being a stoic, and being able to hide all his emotions beneath a straight face without any effort. However, like with every rule, there were exceptions.

_"If you only knew." _Souji thought. _"If you only knew how you could make me feel sometimes."_

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

"There she is." Yosuke said, as the two of them reached the first floor landing. Yukiko and Chie were standing in front of the bulletin board reading the notices. "Hey, Chie!"

He quickly ran beside Chie, putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling her aside. "Why don't we let these two walk home together, huh?"

"Y-yeah, sure." Chie said, surprised. "Hey Yukiko, Souji... we'll go on ahead."

"Where are you guys going?" Souji asked. For some reason, he had always been uncomfortable leaving Yosuke alone with Chie. He had always felt this certain... _tension _between them. There was something there that he couldn't explain, and didn't seem to like. No, he didn't like whatever it was at all.

"Well, home... I guess. Right Yosuke?"

"Sure, yeah. We're going home. You guys enjoy yourselves." Yosuke winked, and turned around, exiting through the front door with Chie.

Souji couldn't help but glue his eyes on their backs for as long as he could. _"Are they really going home? What do they do when they walk like that together? Are they going on a date?" _Questions kept racing in his mind, as something strange tugged within him. Soon he felt foolish because it was really _he _who was going on a "date". He was alone with somebody too.

"Is something the matter, Souji-kun?" Yukiko asked, trying to look for what he was staring at. "Oh... they look cute, together don't you think so? Sure, they fight a lot but when they get along like that, it's actually kind of sweet."

Souji turned around, only to find Yukiko blushing with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Y-yeah, I guess."

He was red in the face too, but for a completely different reason.

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

"Do you mind if we pass by the shrine again today? I want to pay my respects." Yukiko asked, as they walked out the school. It had always been like that recently; whenever the two of them would walk home, Yukiko would request for a trip to the shrine. Souji never complained because in truth, he enjoyed those little trips more than he first imagined. He found the shrine peaceful and relaxing; almost like a different world within the busy shopping district.

"Of course not." He said, putting his hand in his pocket and staring straight at Yukiko. "I'll go with you wherever you like."

As the two of them arrived at the shrine, Souji noticed Yukiko fidgeting more than she usually did.

"Are you going to wish for something, Souji-kun?" Yukiko looked straight in his eyes.

_"What am I going to say?" _Souji thought, surprised. He didn't realize he was going to be asked to wish for something. He couldn't just say he wasn't going to, with Yukiko looking at him like that. She was definitely expecting an answer.

_Good grades? Money? Happiness? Health? _he browsed through a list of really cliché answers in his head, but soon realized that he didn't really need any of them.

_What he really needed at that moment was for his confession to go smoothly._

"For you..." he said, despite it being the cheesiest thing he could think of. It didn't seem like Yukiko minded, anyways.

"F-for me...?" Her face turned bright red, casting her eyes to the ground. "Thank you." She paused, trying to gain her composure.

"I'm wishing for everyone's health. For Chie, for you, for the others... and everyone at the inn too. And..." she paused again, as if she were trying to look for the right words to say.

"I'm wishing to to become a woman worthy of _you_... Souji-kun."

Souji didn't know what to say. _"There's your chance." _he thought. _"She's hinting, go on and tell her already." _

But before he could say anything, Yukiko continued.

"Finally, I wish for everyone to be able to smile together. Uh-uhm, let's begin our prayer." Yukiko bowed her head down, and Souji followed. Souji closed his eyes and began to pray. He thought of what he had told Yukiko earlier, and wondered how to go about it. He peeked a little, catching a glimpse of her. She looked like a porcelain angel with her eyes closed, her long black hair getting blown by the wind. It was somehow surreal how someone as beautiful would be right next to him.

He bowed his head, closing his eyes once again. _"No." _he thought, realizing that it wasn't right to wish for someone. It wasn't fair. If something was meant to be, then it would just happen. He didn't need divine grace to sway the odds towards him.

_"I wish that Yukiko will find happiness wherever she goes, in whatever she does in life."_

He prayed as hard and sincerely as he possibly could, concentrating on that thought. He wished that Yukiko would make decisions that would make _her _happy; on her own volition, especially with regards to her future.

As he was about to end his prayer, something suddenly flashed in his mind.

An image of a brown-haired boy, wearing headphones, fully enveloped in sunlight.

_Yosuke._

Since he was already in the middle of the prayer, he decided to include him as well.

_"I wish that Yosuke would be happy" _he started, trying to keep his concentration. _ "...every day, every hour, every minute... every _second_ of his life."_

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

"I've decided not to leave Inaba." Yukiko said, after a few more moments of silence.

Souji looked up, alarmed by what Yukiko had said. "Are you sure? Is that what you really want?" she had seem so set on leaving in the past that what she said came as a surprise.

"I never really objected to being the inn's manager per se; I just didn't like the fact that it wasn't up to me... I felt like my life was on the rails, and I thought running away was my only choice." Yukiko paused, and stared straight at Souji, her eyes filled with what seemed like determination. "But no longer. I want to protect the family inn. After all, it's near to my heart... I-I want to thank you, Souji-kun. I think it's because of you that I realized this; because you were always by my side."

Yukiko smiled gently, her determination making her more mature.

"U-um, I wanted to ask you this before..." she said, suddenly fidgeting with her hands. "Wh-why... why are you always with me?"

Souji was suddenly at a loss for words. "Because..." he started, trying to come up with the right words to say.

_"Because you're my friend." _he thought of saying, but somehow it didn't seem right. He was with her right now because he saw her as more than that, wasn't he? He tried to recount all the time he's ever spent with Yukiko, trying to think of why he had done so. There was no denying that he enjoyed being with her, but he knew there was something more to that than just her company. She distracted him. She made him_ forget. _

_And now, he needed her for that more than ever._

"Yukiko..." he said, finally organizing his thoughts. It was his chance; if he were ever to tell her how he was feeling, that was the time. The setting was perfect as well—they were all alone in the tranquil shrine on a beautiful spring afternoon. There was no turning back.

"Yuki... _chan_... I-I really like you."

Yukiko seemed so shocked, that she had taken a step back. "Y-you like... m-me?" her eyes were wide open, like the words hadn't fully set in yet. "I feel the same way so... uhm... I-I thought my heart was going to stop."

"So did I." Souji was still a bit shell-shocked, but he felt a deep sense of accomplishment. He had done it. Everything was going to be fine from now on.

"Can you stay here with me... just a little longer?" Yukiko asked, her face redder than Souji had ever seen them before.

"Sure." Souji replied, flashing a warm smile. "We could stay here until it gets dark."

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

As night set in, Souji walked Yukiko to her home. It was pretty far, but he didn't mind. Inaba was a beautiful place even under lamp-light. Walking back to his place after dropping Yukiko off gave him the "alone" time he needed, using it to reflect and to sort his personal matters. This time however, despite what had happened, something bothered him as he trudged to Dojima's.

Everything was perfect. He had a girlfriend.

_What could possibly be bothering him?_

"Welcome back, big bro!" Nanako greeted cheerfully as Souji entered the residence. He removed his shoes, putting them beside the door.

"Oh hey Nanako-chan, how was school?"

He engaged Nanako in conversation, happily eating dinner with her. He waited for Dojima to arrive before retiring to his bedroom, deciding to take a bath before going to sleep. As he began to remove his clothes, he had forgotten to remove the contents of his pocket—his money and everything else inside fell, scattering on the ground.

He picked them up, and suddenly fixed his eyes on a piece of folded paper, forgetting what it was. He opened it, thinking it was a quiz paper he had received that day. However, it was a drawing and a single line that greeted him.

_"I don't know what I'd do without you, partner."_

~x~o~x~o~x~o~_  
_

* * *

**A/N: That wraps up chapter 2! More on what Souji really feels in the next chapter, and I promise, things will start picking up soon. (I'm a sucker for slow, romantic developments, lol)And, oh yeah. Dungeon scenes are coming up. Please tell me what you thought about this. and if you guys want me to continue :p Thanks!**


	3. III Closer

**Here's chapter 3! Sorry for the super late update O_O I've been a bit busy lately, and haven't gotten around to continuing this. But, I promise faster updates from now on. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it XD Anyways, I hope you all enjoy ;)**

* * *

_~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

_"I did it."_

Souji sat on the edge of his bed, with the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He fidgeted with it, crumpling and un-crumpling it, and eventually tossing it to the wall trying to ease the tension he felt. It was a struggle to speak through the phone.

"I did it Yosuke. I… can't believe it."

Yosuke made him promise to give him a call once he got home, and so he did. Souji thought he'd be a little more excited to deliver the news, but he didn't feel the sense of triumph anyone would expect from what had just happened. It was as if he was waiting for the happiness to sink in, but it hasn't quite yet.

"That's my boy! So what did she say? What happened?"

"I told her I liked her."

"And…?"

"She told me she liked me back."

"Dude. If you're going to tell me what happened, at least give me a little more to imagine. Out with the deets, I'm dying here!"

Souji chuckled at his friend's childish demeanor. "Slow down, you seem more excited about it than I am." He had always found it cute whenever Yosuke got over excited and curious over something—it was as if whatever it was that he was hung up on was all that mattered in the world. It was always so much teasing him.

"All right, all right. We went to the temple, as usual and we prayed. And then, when the moment felt right, I told her that I like her. She said she felt the same way, and then I walked her home. Believe it or not, it really was simple as that." Souji lay down on the bed and spread himself out, trying to recall the previous events. Despite the mess that was in his head the whole time, the actual events really _were _that simple. Everything went according to plan, without a hitch. He was now with Yukiko.

"Why does everything come simply to you? If only it were that easy for the rest of us. You really have to teach me how you do it."

"I'm sure you could get any girl if you put your mind to it, Yosuke."

"Yyyeahh I highly doubt that. Anyways, I think this is something that calls for a celebration. I promised to treat you to steak skewers in Junes, didn't I? We can go there and you can tell me more about it."

"_Here we go again." _Souji thought. It was always casual invitations from Yosuke such as this that got him. He can never seem to get himself to say "no" to Yosuke, whatever it may be. Whether Yosuke asked to hang out, or asked for help with homework, or work at Junes, refusing him was out of the question. He willingly dropped everything else—previous engagements and obligations, and even his own personal time just to attend to him. At first he couldn't understand why, but he realized later on that all that really mattered to him was to see Yosuke happy.

However, as of late, things were getting a little out of hand. He had never before in his life experienced something like this—putting someone else before him, much less a guy, so much that the fine lines of emotion were getting blurred in his head. It was an entirely new feeling that confused him, probably because he had never let anyone get that close. With Yosuke, everything felt natural. He could be himself. They could spend a whole afternoon doing and talking about nothing, and it wouldn't feel like a waste of time. It was a certain feeling of contentment he had never had with anyone else before.

The friendship meant so much to him that he didn't want to jeopardize it, lest misunderstandings arise; which is exactly why he thought something had to be done before it was too late. Now that he has a girlfriend, it would be a lot easier for him to refuse Yosuke… wouldn't it?

"I think you're forgetting we're in the middle of an operation here. Rise's still in that dungeon."

"Yeah, but you know, this marks an important event in your life. As your buddy, I'm not letting this just pass by. Besides, there's no way you can refuse free food. I still have to repay you for that lunch you prepared earlier. It was so good I could still taste it in my mouth~"

"I'm not going to stop hanging out with you just because I have a girlfriend, ok? Don't worry about it. Really, maybe some other time."

"Wh-who says I'm concerned about that? I'm impressed, though. If I'd asked Chie, she'd pounce on—"

"Chie... huh? Never mind, you're right. I think we can take the day off. Junes, tomorrow?"

"Uhh… right. The usual spot, after school. We'll see each other in class, anyway. Actually we could make this a "guy's day out" thing, and bring Kanji along but I'll be broke if I had to treat that guy as well. So I guess it's just you and me, huh partner?"

"Good night, Yosuke."

Souji shut his phone and closed his eyes, and laughed in spite of himself. Who knew he could be so weak?

_~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

June 28, 2011

_Junes Food Court_

Souji and Yosuke decided to meet up at Junes food court at exactly 4 PM, since they left the school separately. Souji had to drop by the bookstore, and Yosuke had to attend to some "errands" at Junes. It was already 4:23, but Yosuke was nowhere to be seen.

Souji sat down on one of the chairs, and pulled his newly bought book out. "Mr. Coward, Worrying about Money." Ever since he got to Inaba, he got the habit of checking out the bookstore for the latest releases. They always had books on sale that were really interesting; the types of books he hadn't really noticed back when he was in the city. As he flipped through the pages, a voice called out to him.

"Soujiiii!"

Souji quickly glanced up, and saw Yosuke running towards him. He looked panicked, and somewhat tired. Why was Yosuke still wearing an apron?

"Is everything ok?"

"I-it will be. Come with me." Yosuke said, panting, and signaling towards the grocery.

"Wait, what are you—" but before Souji could finish his sentence, Yosuke grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Before he knew it, they were running hand in hand, with him being dragged along.

"What exactly is happening, Yosuke?"

"Well, you see… Junes is undergoing a major re-stocking, and…"

"And what?"

"Well, my dad wouldn't let me get anything unless I helped out. I thought I would be able to finish enough by the time you arrived, but then I ended up knocking down some boxes and messed up the storeroom. So dude, you've got to help me."

"Are you serious?"

The supermarket was crowded. Junes personnel were running around, and customers were everywhere, pushing carts, holding onto baskets, or lined up behind the counters. Souji hasn't quite seen Junes like this before. Once they were in, Yosuke quickly retied the back of his apron and pointed to another on top of a crate. "Wear that one, or they might think you're shoplifting or something. I wouldn't want to get into trouble with your uncle Dojima again."

"You know, if I had known we had to work just to get the steak skewers, I wouldn't have agreed to it." Souji said, as he picked up and put on his apron as well.

"Exactly. Which is why I didn't tell you."

"…you're impossible, Yosuke."

_~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

"Come on, quick." Yosuke said, opening the heavy storeroom door. "If anyone else sees the mess I made, I won't hear the end of it."

The storeroom was exactly how Souji had imagined. It was pretty big, but cramped at the same time—boxes upon boxes towered over them creating a sort of labyrinth, and yellow tungsten lights hung from the ceiling. The whole place smelled like cardboard and plastic. It reminded him of whenever he got packages whenever his dad was in some other country, or whenever his mom brought home a lot of groceries back when he was a little boy. Being in there brought about a wave of nostalgic feelings, making him a little lightheaded. As they rounded a corner, he finally saw the "mess" Yosuke was talking about. "_Oh boy." _Souji thought.

A huge mountain of miscellaneous toiletries was piled on the ground, as if its contents were dumped by a garbage truck. Some boxes around it were opened, half packed with the goods.

"Yosuke, how did you manage to—"

"Before you react, let me explain." Yosuke said, bending over and picking up some of the toiletries. "I was just sorting the boxes according to which aisle they belonged to, and when I was about to carry them out, I got excited and knocked over some of the unpacked boxes. I-it's really not that bad, all we have to do now is put them back into their respective boxes, and bring them out later for the shelves." Yosuke said it so seriously, that Souji couldn't get himself to laugh. Yosuke was already so absorbed in sorting out the goods.

"All right, all right, let's do this." Souji bent down, and copied whatever Yosuke was doing. _"The blue one goes here, the pink one goes there…"_

The pile was shrinking a lot faster than he thought. In the midst of their concentration, the two barely talked and the storeroom was dead quiet, except for the occasional opening and closing of the door. Souji felt like a machine.

"Wow, you seem to be good at this, Souji." Yosuke said, packing up some of the last couple of goods. "I should probably knock down some boxes more often."

"Please, don't." Souji said, smiling at his friend's remark. He honestly wouldn't mind doing something like this again, though, if ever. Whenever Yosuke asked him to help out, it was usually just to do inventory checks on the shelves, or in Yosuke's words, use his "charms" to persuade customers to buy. This was the first time he was brought to the storeroom, and surprisingly, sorting out the goods in silence with Yosuke was really calming.

"That's the last of it." Yosuke said, closing up the boxes. "Bring those two boxes out, and I'll bring these. We can leave the shelving to the people outside. Oh, boy I can't wait for the steak skewers!"

Souji stacked two boxes on top of another and picked them up. It was a lot heavier than he thought, and he had to concentrate just to get his footing right. He couldn't even see where he was walking. It was no wonder Yosuke ended up tripping over, especially since he had to do all this by himself.

"Ungh—" Souji felt a sharp pain as he hit his shoulder on a metal corner of one of the storeroom shelves. Red seeped into his clothes, and he bent down to drop the boxes to check on it.

"Souji, watch out!"

Before he knew it, Souji was knocked to the ground and boxes from the shelf he hit came crashing down. He closed his eyes and shielded himself with his arms, bracing for the impact. He could hear the boxes falling around him—blunt thumps hitting the ground, one after the other. Whenever he expected the impact though, nothing came. Not one of them hit him. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to meet Yosuke's brown eyes, staring straight at him.

"S-souji… are you alright?" Yosuke winced as he had taken the full impact of each of the boxes. His eyes were wide open with concern, though, and for a few moments, Souji couldn't even get himself to speak. The only sound in the room was Yosuke's ragged breathing, looming above him. Why did Yosuke save him? He would've been perfectly fine defending himself, but Yosuke had to go and shield him like that. And here Yosuke was, asking if _he _was alright. _"Yosuke, you're such an idiot." _

Before either of them could speak, Yosuke suddenly collapses. "Yosuke!" Souji could feel the Yosuke's whole weight against him, as he started to get worried. He held Yosuke's face in his right hand, trying to prop himself up with his left elbow. "Yosuke, look at me!"

Yosuke finally raises his head, and looks at him. Souji was shocked to see tears welling up a bit around his expressive brown eyes. It was a painful sight for Souji to see. Yosuke must've been really hurt. "I-I'm alright, Souji. It just hit my head, don't worry about it. O-oww-"

"Hey let me look at it." Souji said, as he tried to sit both of them up.

"W-wait, can I stay like this on you for a while? I just—I don't think I can sit up yet. Oww my heaaad."

"Yosuke, I think I need to at least take a look at where you got hit."

"Please? Just a moment. Let me stay like this."

Souji gave up, and let Yosuke rest on him. Yosuke's head was on his chest, and he stroked it, feeling the soft brown hair pass through his fingers.

Before long, Souji realized that his heart was beating twice as hard as it normally did, in the stillness of the room. He had never been this close to Yosuke before—so close their bodies were practically pressed against each other's, and he could smell Yosuke's wintergreen scent more than he ever did before. _What was that smell, anyway? Shampoo? Bodywash? Cologne?_ He had always wanted to find out, but was too ashamed to ask him. At that moment, all he could hear was Yosuke's breathing, feeling it through the fabric of his his clothes. The moment seemed a lot longer than it really was, as thoughts raced through Souji's head. _"Given a completely different context, we could be lovers." _Souji didn't even mind the cold, hard cement floor behind his back, or the stinging pain that spread through his shoulder. This moment was special, because it was something that probably wouldn't happen again. Not that he wanted it to happen, or anything. _Or did he?_ Souji closed his eyes, and try to shake off his inappropriate thoughts. He was obviously getting carried away.

"Souji." Yosuke said while laughing, as he raised his head meeting Souji's gaze.

"What's so funny? A-are you ok?"

"Don't you find it funny how we can get so beat up by sorting out boxes? I mean, we're almost always in the dungeon, battling shadows or whatever, but this hardly happens. Just look at me. And just look at you, your shoulder is—oh my God, Souji, your shoulder is bleeding." Yosuke looked alarmed, and quickly put his hand over the spot. "S-see what I mean?"

"I think someone had his head hit a little too hard." Souji said, and he started to laugh as well. "I'm alright Yosuke, it doesn't hurt as much as it looks. Come let me look at that head of yours." He finally got Yosuke to sit up, as he examined a red slump behind his head.

"O-oww, quit that."

"There's a little swelling, but you'll be fine. We need to get ice on it as soon as possible, though. Let's get out of here, can you stand?"

Souji pulled Yosuke up, and escorted him out of the maze of boxes they were in.

"I forgot to tell you Yosuke… thank you."

"For what?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you could've been seriously hurt."

"Don't worry about it, we're buddies right?" Yosuke was smiling, with that signature wink of his. "Whether we're in here, or inside the TV, I'll always have your back. Besides, I was the one who asked you to help me out. If you got hurt and I could've done something about it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I-I suppose." Souji once again felt the blood rush into his cheeks, trying to avert Yosuke's gaze. _"Why is he always like this?" _Souji thought. He started to wonder whether or not Yosuke was aware of the effect he had on him. He had never once met anyone as caring and loyal as Yosuke was, and he felt lucky that he got to call him his own best friend. _"Is this really what best friends feel for each other?"_

___~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

"We're finally done." Yosuke walked out of the grocery with Souji, holding an ice pack to his head. "Never mind what I said earlier, I'm never asking you to sort boxes with me again."

The two of them laughed, as they headed over to the food court. They got their usual table, a little far from the food stands. Yosuke always insisted staying there, because it tended to get crowded near the other tables. Souji sat down, and Yosuke ran up to the counter. "Souji, what do you want? I think I'm getting a hamburg steak instead. It's new on the menu."

Before Souji could reply, he felt something vibrate in his pants pocket.

_"3_ m_essages, Amagi Yukiko"_

A cold feeling suddenly went over him. During the time he spent with Yosuke, he had completely forgotten to check his phone. Yukiko was probably worried about him.

"Souji, so what will it be?" Yosuke called out from the stand.

"Uhh…" Souji hesitated, as he read through Yukiko's messages. She was clearly looking for him.

"I don't think I can—"

"What? Make it louder, I can't hear you."

He fidgeted with his phone, trying to make a last minute decision. He couldn't just leave Yosuke there, right? After all that's happened, the least he could do was fulfill what their purpose for going there in the first place. He was also hungry, after all. And when he tried being really honest with himself, this was where he wanted to be.

"Get me the usual. Steak skewers with barbecue sauce."

Souji looked at his phone again, and replied.

"I'm with Yosuke, I had to help out with his errands at Junes." He folded his phone shut, placed it back into his pocket, and buried his face in hands.

"_What the hell am I doing?"_

_____~x~o~x~o~x~o~_

* * *

**A/N: That's all for now, guys! :) Tell me what you think, ok? X3 **_____  
_


End file.
